Nov 5 2010: T-7 hours excitement becomes ...

We got up early and drove into Orlando to meet the Ames bus. There wasn't much traffic so it didn't take as long as we predicted.

We sat around the lobby of the hotel waiting for the bus to show up. It was really cold today - low 60s and a bit windy. That may not sound cold, but it was the first time the temperature went below the 70s even at night! Ms. Nguyen wasn't prepared for the cool temperatures so she bought a sweatshirt at the hotel gift shop.

The bus pulled in and people started boarding. The representative from NASA Ames was on her phone. She hangs up, climbs the steps of the bus and announces the flight has been scrubbed. We were really bummed.

Thanks to a mechanical problem, the flight was postponed to Saturday, then a few moments later we were told Monday. We loaded ourselves back into our car and started driving home. Along the way we got the news that Space Shuttle Discovery won't launch before Nov. 30. In just a few short minutes, we went from T-7 hours to launch to T-25 DAYS.

It's hard to complain. Yes, our purpose in coming to Florida was to see the shuttle launch. That didn't happen. But, we got to do so many other things while we were waiting! It was a great trip!!

We need to thank the man who hosted the EHMS teachers, Mr. Pollak. He is truly a wonderful person. It takes a special kind of person to open up his home to the four us, to take time off from work to spend time with us, to drive us all over this part of Florida so we could see the sites (with very entertaining commentary all along the way). Thank you Steve! We are looking forward to seeing you on your future trips to our part of the world.